


Tanaka Ryuunosuke: Matchmaker Extraordinaire

by whatisitkirschtein



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, angst???, tanaka is a matchmaker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-06
Updated: 2014-07-06
Packaged: 2018-02-07 16:51:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1906593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatisitkirschtein/pseuds/whatisitkirschtein
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tanaka thinks it's about time Nishinoya confessed to Asahi. </p><p>Things don't exactly go according to plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tanaka Ryuunosuke: Matchmaker Extraordinaire

**Author's Note:**

> haikyuu!! is love, haikyuu!! is life
> 
> so many ships idek how i decided to make my first fic for this series be about asanoya but i'm not complaining
> 
> this is longer than i expected, lmao i got carried away (also it's 5 am and unbeta'd so)

The only sounds that resounded in the otherwise silence of the gym were those of the squeaks of sneakers and panting breath. Sweat dripped onto the court beneath the feet of the boys in the gym. A 'thump' sound could also be heard as the volleyball collided with Nishinoya's arms. He and Tanaka were the only two left in the gym, having stayed behind so they could help each other work on spikes and receives, respectively.

"I think... that's enough for today Noya-san," Tanaka huffed, purposely letting the ball hit the floor with a few thuds as he bent over with his hands on his knees. "Let's clean up and go home."

Nishinoya stood to his full height on the other side of the court, wiping the sweat off his brow. "Getting soft, are we Ryuu? You used to be able to go longer than this."

Tanaka, rising to the bait Nishinoya had obviously set up, also stood to his full height, tilting his head up slightly and puffing out his chest, trying to look intimidating. "Of course I can! I have some of the best stamina of anyone in this club! I just stopped so you wouldn't hurt yourself. Karasuno needs its libero y'know."

With a roll of his eyes and a smirk Nishinoya began to make his way to one end of the net so he could start taking it down. "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Now hurry and come help me take down the net." Tanaka groaned but did so anyway.

The two made easy conversation as they took down the net and returned it to the storage closet. It wasn't until they were sweeping up that a silence fell upon them. Tanaka wasn't particularly fond of silences, especially when he and Nishinoya never seemed to run out of things to talk about. Remembering that he had something that he wanted to ask the other, Tanaka figured that now was as good of a time as any to ask.

"So, Noya-san," he began, keeping his voice light-hearted and as conversational as he could. "When you were you gonna fess up that secret of yours to your big bro?"

Out of the corner of his eye Tanaka observed Nishinoya, seeing the scrunch of the eyebrows in response to Tanaka's question. "Okay first, you're only older than me by like, 6 months, and second, I don't have any secrets."

"Are you sure about that? No secrets about anyone you liiiiike?" Tanaka teased, making his intentions clear with his facial expressions and tone of voice.

He watched as Nishinoya stopped in his tracks, a frown and a slight blush on his face. "I don't... I don't like anyone."

Tanaka smirked. _'Gotcha.'_ "Oh no?" He asked, feigning an innocent and curious expression. "Not even Kiyoko-san?" Nishinoya's eyes widened and then he adopted a look that appeared to be a mix between defeat, anger, and utter betrayal.

"O-of course!" He all but shouted, standing tall. "Kiyoko-san is my one and only! She turns me on when she ignores me!" Nishinoya nodded to himself, and Tanaka wondered if it was because he thought it was actually true or if he had to reassure himself.

"Is that so?" Tanaka inquired, making his voice friendly again as he resumed sweeping. "Your one and only you say?"

"Yes!" Nishinoya belted, his lips drawn tight as though to prevent himself from saying anything he shouldn't, also continuing to sweep his side of the gym.

Tanaka hummed, nodding a little. "So, she even surpasses Asahi-san?" The second-year jumped as he heard the broom Nishinoya was using fall the floor with a clatter. He looked up to the spot where the younger was standing, taking in how his shoulders were hunched, his head was bowed, and his hands curled tightly into fists. "Noya-san...?"

"What... what are you talking about Ryuu?" Nishinoya breathed, and as he moved his head slightly, Tanaka smirked, the blush on the shorter boy's face reminding him of his mission.

"I'm talking about that fact that you have a big, huge crush on Asahi," Tanaka stated bluntly.

The boy on the other side of the gym shook his head vehemently. "No. No I don't. That's ridiculous, Ryuu." Nishinoya let out a laugh that sounded fake even in his ears.

"Look, Noya, it's okay-"

"No!" Nishinoya shouted, finally looking up at Tanaka. "No, it's not okay Ryuu! It's not okay because I'm having all these weird thoughts about him, and all these weird feelings about him but he's my friend. He's my friend and my teammate and I shouldn't be feeling this way towards him! It's not good... it's not safe."

"What do you mean, 'not safe'?" Tanaka requested quietly.

Nishinoya shook his head again. "I can't ruin this. Asahi-san and I finally, finally started getting back to normal. I can't ruin it all by having a stupid crush on him. It's not safe, so I don't think about it. Because I know that if I think about it it'll mess up everything, from our day-to-day lives, to volleyball, And I can't have that happen again. And... and even I did want to think about it, and even if I considered telling him, there's no way that he would feel the same way about me."

Tanaka frowned deeply, noting how dejected his friend looked. The two of them spent a lot of time together, but Tanaka couldn't think of time where Nishinoya looked so small. And that had nothing to do with the 18 cm that he had on the other. "You can't be sure of that Noya-san. You'll never know until you try. In fact, I’m almost positive that Asahi-san does feel the same."

"No, he doesn’t. I can't." Nishinoya repeated. "I can’t even risk it. I won't. It's not worth it. My friendship with Asahi-san is one of the things I value most in my life.

"Sorry to leave so quickly, but I just remembered my mom needs me to pick up something for her at the store. If I don't go now it'll be closed. See you tomorrow Tanaka-san." With that, Nishinoya, got his belongings, practically sprinting out of the building, still in his practice outfit.

As he watched the other go, Tanaka couldn't help but feel a sadness for the other. Nishinoya hadn't called him by his surname since they had first met.  _'No. Snap out of it, Ryuu. You have to help them confess to each other!'_ Tanaka nodded to himself, his goal clear in his mind. He was going to get those two together if it was the last thing he did. (He secretly hoped it wasn't.)

-

Over the next few days Tanaka had to wonder if he had made a grave mistake with trying to convince Nishinoya to accept his feelings.

The days that followed their conversation saw tension between the Ace and Guardian Deity of Karasuno. It wasn't too obvious, but despite his looks and personality, Tanaka was a surprisingly good observer. He was superb at noticing the body language and facial expressions of the people around him. He was especially attuned to his teammates since he spent a significant amount of time with them. Which was why he was so quick to notice the distance being created between Nishinoya and Asahi.

It wasn't a big difference, and he seemed to be the only one of his teammates who noticed it. Tanaka came to realize that over the past few days, Nishinoya had been taking care to keep a decent amount of space between himself and Asahi.

If it involved practically anyone else, Tanaka would've most likely brushed it off and dismissed it as nothing. But with Nishinoya's inner turmoil, he knew the end result wouldn't be good.

Nishinoya was naturally a person who thrived off of physicality. He was always clinging onto someone's back, or grabbing onto someone's arm. It was part of how he expressed himself. But more than that, it was how he showed his affection. Tanaka often found himself indulging in Nishinoya's need to be hands-on, and Hinata was also often caught up in it too. But out of anyone on the team, Asahi most definitely received the most attention, which goes to show how much Nishinoya truly cares for the other. But since the night in the gym, Nishinoya has mostly kept his hands to himself- especially when it came to Asahi. This discovery didn't sit well with Tanaka, because he knew that this could only lead to bad things, and bad things tended to lead to even worse things.

"Are you okay Tanaka?" Daichi had asked him while he was drinking from his water bottle during practice, keeping a subtle eye on Asahi and Nishinoya. "You've been kind of distracted lately. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, Captain, everything's fine," Tanaka assured, making sure he looked Daichi straight in the eyes.

The Captain nodded, looking convinced. "Good. Now let's keep practicing."

 _'I'm fine,'_ Tanaka thought, noticing the way Nishinoya moved away inconspicuously when Asahi took a step towards him. _'But I'm not too sure about them.'_

-

That night, Tanaka invited Nishinoya to go to the convenience store with him, internally celebrating when the shorter male agreed.

The wing spiker made sure to keep conversation light and normal at first, because he didn't want to scare Nishinoya off or give him the wrong impression. It seemed to work, because the tension that Nishinoya had in his posture lately faded, and his smile and laugh were real, and loud, and bright.

After getting their snacks, (Kit-Kat for Tanaka and Pocky for Nishinoya) Tanaka knew that he couldn't stall any longer.

"So," he began, interrupting Nishinoya's story of a bird flying into his bedroom window at three o'clock in the morning. "I'm guessing that you didn't talk to Asahi-san yet."

Nishinoya's face was blank for a moment, before it became understanding as he remembered their earlier conversation. "No, Ryuu, I did not talk to him," he sighed, sounding tired. "And I'm not going to because I value this team, and I value our friendship. I told you that."

"And I told you that nothing bad was going to happen because he likes you too, you dummy! This isn't like you. The Noya I know loves taking risks and running headfirst into danger!"

"This is different Ryuu," Nishinoya began to explain. "Because the risky things I do would only have an effect on me if something were to go wrong. With this, other people's emotions, and bonds are on the line and I can't be responsible for that. I just can't."

Tanaka knit his brows together before he huffed out a sigh. "Okay, yeah, you're right. Doing this involves a lot of things that you don't like to deal with like emotions and stuff, but if you _did_ tell Asahi and he _didn't_ like you back, he wouldn't turn away from you, or be any different because of this. He's your best friend, and he's one of the most understanding people either of us has ever met. Asahi is a good guy. You should trust him."

"You're right," Nishinoya stated, much to Tanaka's surprise. "He is a good person. Which is why I can't do it and put the emotional burden on him. I'm sorry."

Nishinoya sped up, and Tanaka knew better than to try to catch up. He took another bite of his Kit-Kat and frowned, wondering if starting this whole thing was a waste of time.

-

By the end of the week Tanaka knew that if he didn't interfere soon, everything might fall apart.

After the second talk with Nishinoya, Tanaka realized that the tension between the team's libero and Ace had increased tenfold. It was so bad that even Hinata had wondered aloud if the two were okay.

It wasn't that they didn't talk or interact at all, because they did. But even from a viewer's perspective one could tell that their relationship wasn't as it always was; the once easygoing connection they had was now strained and awkward, conversations often trailing off and being left unfinished.

It was now Friday afternoon, and the team was at practice. They were taking turns two at a time practicing receives, the rest of the team on the sidelines while they waited and observed, and also giving critique.

Nishinoya stood on one end of the court with Asahi on the other, and the younger of the two was crouched, eyes focused as he waited on the upcoming serve. Asahi did his normal routine of bouncing the ball three times and spinning it with his palms before stopping it, throwing it up into the air and hitting it with his usual overhand serve. Nishinoya watched the ball carefully as it flew through the air and cleanly over the net. He only had to move a half step to the right to easily let it bounce off is arms with a light underhand receive that had it bouncing to the floor on his side of the net.

Tanaka watched as Nishinoya tensed up violently and suddenly, and he could practically feel the anger radiating off of him.

"What was that?" Nishinoya demanded loudly, not seeming to notice or care that he disrupted practice.

Asahi, obviously stunned, blinked a few times. "W-what? I don't... I didn't..."

"Yes you did!" Nishinoya boomed, and a silence swiftly fell upon the gym. "You gave me a shitty serve, just like you've been doing all day! What is _wrong_ with you? All the serves and spikes you sent my way have practically fallen right into my lap! What is up with you?!"

As Nishinoya spoke he moved, seemingly subconsciously, towards Asahi keeping his eyes on him even as he moved under the net, until they were mere centimetres apart. The brunet, currently staring down an infuriated Nishinoya looked scared to death and at a loss for words, cold sweat dripping down his face. "I... I don't... I'm sorry I didn't mean to, I've j-just been distracted lately, and you've been kind of off recently-"

" _I'm_ not the one giving crappy plays though, am I?" Nishinoya questioned almost mockingly, hands curled up into fists as though he wanted to punch something.

However as soon as that sentence was uttered from Nishinoya's mouth it seemed as though something within Asahi snapped, and he straightened out his back and narrowed his eyes at the younger player.

Seeing the mood shift once again, Daichi tried to intervene. "Oi, guys, that's enough." But it was to no avail, neither of the two seeming to have heard their Captain's call.

"Maybe not," Asahi hissed, and Tanaka could only stand there, jaw slack. He doesn't think he's ever seen or heard Asahi so angry. "But I'm not the one being a bad friend!"

_"A bad friend?"_

"Yes! All week you've been acting weird and distant with me, and every time I ask about it, you brush me off and tell me it's nothing!"

"Because it _is_ nothing," Nishinoya argued, his face getting red. "And even if it wasn't, I wouldn't need to tell you because you're useless at these things, just like how you're being completely useless now!"

Another silence fell after that statement. Asahi's angry face fell, being replaced with one of complete infidelity and wretchedness. "Noya..."

The libero just huffed, stomping out of the gym, not even bothering with his stuff.

Asahi, thoroughly shaken, was aware of the multiple sets of eyes on him. With trembling legs, he walked over to where the ball had landed, picking it up so he could do another serve. Maybe it would be useful this time.

Daichi cleared his throat, getting the attention of the other members. "Regular practice serves and receives now. Get into partners and get one ball for the two of you. You know what to do from there." With that, the team dispersed, save for Daichi, Sugawara, and Tanaka.

"What's even going on with them?" Sugawara asked, looking extremely worried.

"I have no clue," Daichi responded, arms crossed over his chest.

"I think I might know," Tanaka spoke, causing the other two to look at him curiously.

"Care to share?" Daichi inquired, and Tanaka bit his lip.

"Not my business to share," he said finally.

Daichi sighed but nodded. "Think you can fix this?"

Tanaka gave a nod of his own. "I'll damn well try."

-

It was nearing Saturday afternoon and Tanaka was sitting on his bed, phone in hand. He had spent the whole night trying to think of a way to get Asahi and Nishinoya back to normal, and if he was lucky, to finally confess their feelings for one another and live happily ever after.

His plan wasn't a great one, and he was sure practically anyone else could have thought of something better, but he couldn't ask for help because Daichi had trusted him and him alone with this task.

So there he was, phone in hand at 11:50 a.m., pretty much drowning in his own sweat. Everything was riding on this. On him. (But no pressure, right?)

_**To: Noya-san** _  
_**From: Tanaka** _  
_noya-saaaaaan. i know you're probably still in a bad mood, but i'm at the park and they have a super huge barbeque going on!!!! come join me!!!!_

Tanaka huffed, wiping the sweat off his brow. As he waited for Nishinoya to reply, he typed out a text to Asahi.

_**To: Asahi-san** _  
_**From: Tanaka** _  
_asahi-saaaaaan. i'm at the park and some old lady handed me a box of abandoned kittens and asked me help them find homes!!! will you help me???!!!!_

The volleyball player sighed, jumping as his phone vibrated, notifying him of a text.

_**From: Noya-san** _  
_**To: Ryuu** _  
_ur rite. not in the mood. mayb nxt time_

Tanaka sighed again, wondering how he could convince Nishinoya to come to the park.

_**To: Noya-san** _  
_**From: Tanaka** _  
_plsssssssssssss. i'll feel weird eating so much by myself.......... i'll buy you as much as you want~_

**_From: Noya-san_ **  
_**To: Ryuu** _  
_...fine. meet u there in 15_

Tanaka was about to jump for joy when his phone vibrated again.

_**From: Asahi-san** _  
_**To: Tanaka** _  
_Okay, Tanaka-san. But only because I'm not too sure you'll be able to find them all homes by yourself. I'll meet you at the park in 15 minutes. See you then._

A lone tear fell from Tanaka's eye, the wing spiker not even going to wipe it. Of all his victories, this had to be his biggest yet.

-

12 minutes later, Tanaka was in the park, hiding in the bushes a little ways away from the bench he had told both boys to meet him at. He sniggered, mentally patting himself on the back for the hundredth time since he left the house at how clever his plan was.

His laughs came to a halt, however, when he sees Asahi walk up to the bench. "Tanaka?" He called, looking around. "Tanaka! Guess he's not here yet." The brunet sat on the bench, his eyes looking around the park for any sign of Tanaka. Instead of seeing him however, he saw another one of his teammates. One of whom he was hoping to avoid for as long as possible. Nishinoya. Asahi looked away and tried to curl up into a ball to avoid being noticed by the other, panicking when he came right next to the bench.

"Bastard's not even here," Nishinoya heaved. "I didn't even see any barbeque..." Nishinoya's eyes also wandered the park in search of Tanaka, widening when he saw Asahi.

"Asahi-san?" He asked quietly, forcing the other out of his little ball.

"Ah, Nishinoya," he muttered. "Hi."

"What're you doing here?"

"Uh, waiting for Tanaka."

Nishinoya rose an eyebrow at that. "Huh. Me too. Well, he told me to meet him here so I'm just gonna..." He trailed off, gesturing at the bench.

Asahi nodded, scooting over, despite the fact that Nishinoya already had a more than enough space to sit.

The two sat in silence for over 10 minutes, both sneaking glances at one another when they thought the other wasn't looking.

"I think I'm gonna go," Nishinoya announced, standing up from with bench, his back towards Asahi. "He said he would be here already but he's not, and you know I’m not patient, so, yeah. Uhm. Bye."

Asahi watched Nishinoya's retreating form, and decided that he had had enough of being a coward, and decided to do something to try to help him gain some understanding.

"Did I do something for you to treat me this way?" Asahi let out a small sigh when he saw Nishinoya stop. (Tanaka, still in the bush, also sighed. He really didn't want to throw that rock at Nishinoya's head.)

"What do you mean?' Nishinoya asked quietly, back still turned to Asahi.

"I've been thinking, wondering what I possibly could have done for you to start distancing yourself from me, but I couldn't for the life of me think of anything. So please, tell me. I don't like being in the dark. I don't like having this tension between us."

Nishinoya's shoulders hunched and Asahi could see and hear his breathing become ragged. "It's nothing okay? Just drop it."

"I'm sorry, but I can't. And I refuse to give up until you tell me what it is. It obviously involves me, so I think I deserve the right to know."

"You're right," Nishinoya agreed sullenly. "It does involve you, and you _do_ have the right to know. But I can't tell you, I honestly can't."

"Noya-san. I thought- I thought we were closer than this. We've already established that we can tell each other anything."

"We did. Yes, Asahi-san we did, but this is different."

"I thought you trusted me-"

"I do!"

"So then why is it so hard for you to tell me this?" Asahi bellowed.

"Because it'll ruin everything!" Nishinoya retaliated loudly.

"I promise you that it won't; I won't judge you."

"Don't make promises you can't keep Asahi."

"Noya, _please."_

At that Nishinoya froze, anything he had to say dying on his lips. In those two words, Asahi had managed to sound so hurt that he had to stop and take a breath.

Fuck it. Fuck it all.

"You really want to know Asahi-san?" He requested, slowly turning around to finally face the other. At Asahi's nod he continued. "Fine. Look, the reason I've been acting weird lately it because of you."

At Asahi's startled expression, Nishinoya backtracked. "Okay, no I didn't mean it like that. I've been having... _thoughts._ Thoughts about you. Thoughts about what it would be like to date you, and kiss you, and hold your hand and gross stuff like that. And it freaked me out at first because you're my _best friend_ and I shouldn't be having thoughts like that. I didn't avoid you because I thought it was gross or bad or anything- well actually yes, I thought it was bad because I knew you couldn't possibly have the same feelings for me, and I wasn't about to ruin our relationship when we've finally gotten in back to normal.

“I'm sorry I had all these thoughts, I'm sorry I've probably just freaked you out so bad you won't wanna talk to me ever again, and I'm especially sorry for avoiding you. But I'm most sorry for what I said yesterday. You're not useless. You're amazing and perfect and the team needs you. Which is why I couldn't say anything because I thought you would run away, and I can't continue playing volleyball at Karasuno if you're not there with me. I guess what I’m trying to say here is that I really like you, and even if we’re not friends, I hope we can still play together, so. Yeah. Sorry." Nishinoya ends his speech panting and slightly out of breath. Asahi is staring and him and he has to get out of there because he's sure that once Asahi is out of his stupor he is most definitely going to punch him and he's not quite in the mood for a black eye.

So Nishinoya turned away, ready to sprint his way back to his house and probably cry is eyes out for the remainder of the weekend and probably his life.

Just as he was about to run away, Asahi caught his arm, spinning the other around to face him again. He froze, squeezing his eyes shut, awaiting the hit that was sure to come. When nothing came, he opened his eyes.

"You can't just confess to someone and run away Noya-san," Asahi declared softly, eyes gentle.

NIshinoya was (for once in his life), at a loss for words. Asahi didn't look angry in the slightest. He looked happy, and calm, and almost relieved.  _What?_ _  
_

"You're not going to hit me?" He finally mumbled, getting a furrowed brow in response.

"Why would I hit you?" Asahi asked, sounding confused, and seriously, how long was he going to play dumb?

"Because I just told you I liked you as more than a friend," he explained slowly, also sounding decently confused. His confusion only increased when Asahi let out a chuckle.

"Well what do you think the proper response would be for me feeling the same way?"

Nishinoya froze again. It seemed like time had stopped around him. He stopped breathing and he was pretty sure his heart had stopped beating as well. Was he dead?

"D-don't joke around like that Asahi-san."

"Who said I was joking?" Looking into Asahi's eyes, Nishinoya had no reason not to believe him. As usual, his eyes were soft and honest, leaving no room for question or doubt.

A smile, a large genuine smile formed on Nishinoya's face, and his overwhelming happiness had him jumping on Asahi, wrapping his arms around his neck and his legs around his waist. Asahi stumbled back at the force of the hug, but laughed, wrapping his arms around Nishinoya's waist.

Nishinoya peppered kisses all over Asahi's face, whispering "I'm sorry" between every one.

Asahi just stood there and took it all, though his face burned red.

"Are we okay now?" Asahi questioned, pausing Nishinoya's kisses.

"Yes, God, yes. We're perfect. It's perfect. _You're perfect._ "

"Good." Asahi boldly leaned in for their first proper kiss, and was it cliché for Nishinoya to say he saw fireworks?

They stood in the park kissing and holding each for the entire world to see without a care in the world. (Well Nishinoya wouldn't care, but Asahi would later blush and stutter when he realize what he'd done and say that he could never show his face there again.)

Tanaka finally stood from the bush, dusting himself off before reaching around and giving himself an actual pat on the back. "You did good, Ryuunosuke. You did good." He began walking, whistling happily. As he passed the two new boyfriends he yelled "Oi! Get a room!"

The two broke apart in surprise, and he watched their faces turn from those of shock, to those of understanding and realization.

"I'll get you for this Ryuu!" Nishinoya threatened, shaking a fist at him.

Tanaka just waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, sure you will. Now go back to kissing your boyfriend, will you?"

Nishinoya did.

Tanaka sighed happily to himself, a large smile on his face. "All in a day's work. Hey, does this mean I can have Kiyoko-san...?"

**Author's Note:**

> send me [more](http://whatisitkirschtein.tumblr.com/) haikyuu prompts


End file.
